Contextualization: Mansa Musa
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Contextualization: Mansa Musa”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeDeepen your understanding of contextualization by considering how geography and cultural or religious beliefs enabled Mansa Musa to embark on a 3,000-mile journey.Process 1.Why might it be challenging to call someone who lived many years ago “the richest man in the world”?2.Watch (or read the transcript) for The Mail Empire: How Mansa Musa’s Gold Changed the World. As you watch or read, use the note taker below to jot down information about the Mali Empire, and Mansa Musa’s wealth, and travels.Mali Empire Mansa Musa’s wealthMansa Musa’s travels3.Read the primary source excerpt below. As you read, underline any geographic and cultural factors that enabled Mansa Musa to embark on his journey.
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA 2Sourcing Excerpt: Mansa MusaIn 1324 Mansa Musa (c. 1280–c. 1337 CE) traveled from the capital of the Mali kingdom in Timbuktu through Egypt on his hajj to Mecca. On this journey, he brought nobles and servants along with camels loaded with gold and other gifts. West Africa and the kingdom of Mali were rich in gold and sat along the crossroads of trade that extended from West Africa across the Sahara to East Africa and beyond to the Mediterranean, Silk Road, and Indian Ocean trade routes. By about 800 CE much of northern Africa including the kingdom of Mali had begun converting to Islam. Many of the early converts to Islam in these regions were merchants and elites, including the rulers of many empires and kingdoms. As a result, networks of faith and trade connected many Afro- Eurasian peoples into a global community of interaction. In the excerpt below, an Islamic scholar describes Mansa Musa’s visit to Cairo, Egypt. Source: Levtzion, Nehemia and JFP Hopkins. Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2011 (pp. 269–273).From the beginning of my coming to stay in Egypt I heard of talk of the arrival of this sultan Musa on his Pilgrimage and found the Cairenes [people of Cairo] eager to recount what they had seen of the Africans’ prodigal [extravagant] spending. I asked the emir [ruler] Abu ... and he told me of the opulence [wealth], manly virtues, and piety [faithfulness] of his sultan. “When I went out to meet him [he said] that is, on behalf of the mighty sultan al-Malik al-Nasir, he did me extreme honour and treated me with the greatest courtesy. He addressed me, however, only through an interpreter despite his perfect ability to speak in the Arabic tongue. Then he forwarded to the royal treasury many loads of unworked native gold and other valuables. I tried to persuade him to go up to the Citadel to meet the sultan, but he refused persistently saying: “I came for the Pilgrimage and nothing else. I do not wish to mix anything else with my Pilgrimage.” He had begun to use this argument but I realized that the audience [with the sultan of Egypt] was repugnant [offensive] to him because he would be obliged [required] to kiss the ground and the sultan’s hand. I continued to cajole [persuade] him and he continued to make excuses but the sultan’s protocol [rules] demanded that I should bring him into the royal presence, so I kept on at him till he agreed.When we came in the sultan’s presence we said to him: “Kiss the ground!” but he refused outright: “How may this be?” Then an intelligent man who was with him whispered to him something we could not understand and he said: “I make obeisance [this bow] to God who created me!” then he prostrated [bowed] himself and went forward to the sultan. The sultan half rose to greet him and sat him by his side. They conversed together for a long time, then sultan Musa went out. The sultan sent to him several complete suits of honour for himself, his courtiers [nobles], and all those who had come with him, and saddled and bridled horses for himself and his chief courtiers ... This man [Mansa Musa] flooded Cairo with his benefactions [gifts]. He left no court emir nor holder of a royal office without the gift of a load of gold. The Cairenes made incalculable profits out of him and his suite in buying and selling and giving and taking. They exchanged gold until they depressed its value in Egypt and caused its price to fall. ... Gold was at a high price in Egypt until they came in that year. The mithqal1 did not go below 25 dirhams2 and was generally above, but from that time its value fell and it cheapened in price and has remained cheap till now. The mithqal does not exceed 22 dirhams or less. This has been the state of affairs for about twelve years until this day by reason of the large amount of gold which they brought into Egypt and spent there. ...1 The mithqal was a uniform measure of weight in the Islamic world. This equaled about 4.25 grams (a little over an eighth of an ounce) and was used as a common weight for precious metals such as gold.2 A dirham was a unit of currency in the Islamic world.
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA 34.Now, fill out the Contextualization Tool using what you’ve learned from this lesson and the primary source. Contextualization Tool1.Write the historical event/development being studied.2.Write the date(s) and location(s) of the historical event being studied.3.Event Cards: Cut out the events cards and then place them on the funnel to show whether they represent narrow or broad context. Be prepared to explain your placement. You can also complete this portion of the activity by clicking the link for Google Slides. You will need to create a copy of the slides.
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA 4Historical Event/Development:Broad: Wide ranging or long term Does the context represent wide-ranging themes, trends, events, eras, or regions related to the historical development?Does it represent a long-term (underlying) cause or contributing factor?Narrow: Limited or short term Does the context represent limited themes, trends, events, eras, or regions that are more closely tied in time/place to the historical development?Does it help us see the short-term (immediate) causes or contributing factors?
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA 54.Write one to two sentences that describe the broad context of this event.5.Write one to two sentences that describe the narrow context of this event.6.Analyze how the broad and narrow context help you better understand the historical event.7.What geographic and cultural context enabled Mansa Musa to travel when and where he did?
OER PROJECT: WH AP / LESSON 2.5 ACTIVITY CONTEXTUALIZATION: MANSA MUSA 68.How does Mansa Musa compare to other leaders either from the past or the present? And what kind of criteria do you use to assess a person’s leadership abilities (wealth, political power, military leadership, cultural influence, etc.)?